Nandita Singh & Om Prakash SinghMillennium Water Story (MWS), Stockholm
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INTRODUCTION AIM: Discuss how participatory ecosystem
management enables water security and balanced water use between people, food production and environment, through case studies from India
METHOD: Empirical research in semi-arid/arid rural India - Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra
APPROACH: IWRM framework, with ‘integration’ focused on green and blue waters, different water use sectors, stakeholder participation
INDIA
FINDINGS (1) Problem: Ecosystem degradation a result of overexploitation of natural resources -
water, forest and pastures leading to poverty and under-development
Action: Ecosystem restoration process through community participation engaging men and women at micro-watershed level
➢ Water conservation through construction of watershed structures like checkdams/ anicuts, water absorption trenches (WAT) and gabions to slow the flow of runoff; percolation tanks & dams to store water and increase groundwater recharge
➢ Afforestation for restoring forests and pastures
➢ Community rules –for protection of restored greenery
FINDINGS (2)Outcomes:
Recharged groundwater and enhanced green water (moisture) in soil
Rejuvenation of lost rivers and ponds
Restoring lost flora & fauna
Implications for sustainable development:
Provision of adequate and safe drinking water – reduced women’s drudgery, enabled girls’ education, improved health, etc.
Revival of agriculture - enhanced incomes through increased crop and animal productivity
Poverty alleviation, increased gender equality, enjoyment of human rights, also improved climate resilience
RAJASTHAN (1)
A crescent-shaped johad in village Sada ka Guwara
Anicut on Arvaririver near village Kaler
An afforested patch raised by villagers in Gopalpura
Rejuvenatedpastureland in Bhaonta-Koylalavillage
RAJASTHAN (2)
A well filled with water in village Sanwatsar
Handpump yielding safe drinking water round the year in Bhaonta-Koylalavillage
Wheat grown as winter crop in village Gopalpura
Pearl millet grown as summer crop in village Gopalpura
MAHARASHTRA (1)
Percolation tank in village RaleganSiddhi
A ‘gabion’ as a ‘nala’ (drain) bund in village RaleganSiddhi
Afforestation in village RaleganSiddhi
Nursery being raised for supporting afforestation in village Ralegan Siddhi
MAHARASHTRA (2)
A recharged agricultural well in village RaleganSiddhi
A handpump recharged through watershed structures in village Ralegan Siddhi
A field of black gram in villageRalegan Siddhi
Onion grown as a cash crop in village Ralegan Siddhi
BIHAR (1)
Rejuvenated Karim Ahar in Kareliwatershed
A ‘water absorption trench’ at the base of a hill in Koilu watershed
Rejuvenated forest in Kareli watershed
Checkdam constructed along a hillslope to hold runoff in Koiluwatershed
BIHAR (2)
High water table in an agricultural well in Koiluwatershed
Recharged handpump yielding drinking water round the year in Kareli watershed
A field of ripe wheat crop in Kareli watershed
Paddy crop in Koiluwatershed
CONCLUSIONS
Complementarities exist between participatory ecosystem management and ‘decentralized’ IWRM at micro-watershed scale
Helped achieve ‘integration’ of: blue and green waters, different water use sectors, and active stakeholder participation
Replication of the approach in neighboring degraded micro-watersheds can lead to achieving IWRM at progressively higher scales within and between river basins
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